Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 49,689 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 468% compared to the average daily volume of 8,751 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 313.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 583.7% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 8,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 7,390 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Microelectronics Stock Up 4.4%

NYSE:UMC traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.00. The company had a trading volume of 16,276,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,989,676. United Microelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $23.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $55.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.10.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%. On average, equities analysts expect that United Microelectronics will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.60.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed (NYSE: UMC) and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC’s core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.